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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28821534">Memories</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lord77/pseuds/Lord77'>Lord77</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Uplifted [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Foundation - Isaac Asimov, Zootopia (2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:55:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,302</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28821534</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lord77/pseuds/Lord77</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This is Part 2 of the Uplifted Series which starts a few years following the climatic ending of Part 1, but first backtracks through the Wildehopps years.  </p><p>Join the Heroes of Zootopia as they remember the important events of their time together, depicted as a series of short stories.</p><p>I hope you enjoy this trip through the memories.</p><p>Lordy...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Judy Hopps &amp; Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Uplifted [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113149</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Dreams</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>(Foundation Datestamp, 2049NT)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His eyelids flutter, exposing the narrowest of slits. Even in the greatly dimmed room of the Foundation MedLab, the few strands of light that pass his lids bring excruciating agony that viciously repeats. The pounding rhythm in his head is timed with the throbbing pulses of blood flowing from his much younger heart. Challenging the intense pain, he raises a limb into his sight as he issues a loud moan in payment for the motion.</p><p>He needs to know...</p><p>In the dim light, he gets the answer. Before his eyes, he recognizes the paw covered with auburn fur. Slowly, he turns it to see the pads and claws on the forepaw as he flexes the digits. Amidst the agonizing torment in his mind, a thought coalesces.</p><p>
  <em>I made it...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m alive…</em>
</p><p>----------------------</p><p>Across the hall from the MedLab, a grey bunny with black-tipped ears stands at the nurse’s monitoring station, her body a contrast of nervous shifting and tear-streaked worry. Although carrying the life experience of one in her mid-50s (she refuses to accept 57 as upper-50s), her physical appearance is that of her mid-20s, having undergone regeneration only two weeks prior. The first non-human success stands next to her with banded eyes closely scrutinizing the same set of monitors that are the focus of lapin ones, both closely tracking the hopeful third.</p><p>Small grey paws clamp to her mouth in an automatic attempt to stifle a squeak of surprise as Judy watches Nick slowly raise and rotate his left arm before his eyes.</p><p>“That’s a good sign, right?” she asks in hope to the smock-wearing racoon physician.</p><p>“Yes. He’s becoming aware of himself and his environment. That’s a very good sign,” Rocky responds with a nod. “His vitals look strong, and the EEG isn’t showing any signs of distress from then repatterning.”</p><p>“What happens next?” the doe asks.</p><p>The physician snorts a short laugh. “You just went through this two weeks ago. You forget already?”</p><p>“It was a blur. I can still feel the echo of the headaches. I just remember dreaming a lot.”</p><p>“Not dreams...memories,” a low-toned voice responds from behind.</p><p>Both mammals turn to see the tall, dark-haired human now standing behind them. His close cropped beard is devoid of grey. Yet, the slight indication of facial lines suggests a man in his early thirties, even though his life experience is measured at over two millennia.</p><p>“The synapses are resetting to match the pattern Doc overlaid on them. That will take some time. Remembering events, whether personal experiences or stories told to him, will help build the pathways faster,” Palver explains. “You perceived it as dreams. But, the dreams were literally replays of actual events, weren’t they?”</p><p>“I..I guess,” Judy admits, turning back towards the monitors as another pair of tears travel down the already well-matted path on her face, her shoulders saging with the drop of ears.</p><p>“I didn’t realize it at the time, as the dreams were so vivid. I had never dreamt so hard,” she adds before asking with hope. “There isn’t anything you can do for him yet, right?”</p><p>“Sorry. Too soon,” Rocky regretfully responds. “The receptors have to be unblocked to pass the signals, or else the memories will not set.”</p><p>The doe sniffs again, wiping her face. “I’m sorry to be such an emotional bunny. I’m sure Nick handled this far better when I went through regeneration.”</p><p>The banded-face physician barks a laugh, gaining raised ears and a look of surprise from the bunny as she turns towards him.</p><p>“Your unflappable, never-let-them-get-to-you fox?” Rocky questions, getting a slow nod from the doe before he turned back to face the monitors. “Yeah. Well, while you were in that bed whimpering and moaning, he stood right where you are now and cried like a kit.”</p><p>“Oh, Nick…” Judy whispers, closing her eyes, and taking a calming breath as her ears fold behind her. “I’m so sorry.”</p><p>Blinking away more tears, the doe suddenly turns and heads towards the door.</p><p>“Where are you going?” the doctor asks.</p><p>“I’m going to go help him remember,” Judy responds, opening the door and heading across the hall.</p><p>-------------------</p><p>As silently as she can, Judy slips into the room, soundlessly sliding into the visitor chair next to him. She can see his eyes, still barely open, refocus in her direction as his arm lowers.</p><p>“Carrots,” he whispers slowly, his lips barely parting to form the nickname. Her eyes go wide, with nose twitching and ears vertical as they focus on the fox.</p><p>“Hi, Nick,” she softly responds back.</p><p>“You know...you love me,” he breathes out, bringing a smile of surprise to the bunny’s face. Ears then drop as tears of joy stream down her face.</p><p>“Do I know that?” she whispers back, answering the script. “Yes. Yes, I do.”</p><p>As his paw brushes hers, he gains a small respite from the blinding pain of regeneration as his thoughts begin to converge around the most important person in his life.</p><p>Watching his eyes close again, she softly adds, “Sweet dreams, my fox. Come back to me when you are done.”</p><p>And the memories begin...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Bridge</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The next chapters are Nick's memories as he recalls the events in his life.  </p><p>Little slices of WildeHopps (some warranting the M rating).</p><p>It starts with the bridge scene in Zootopia as seen through Nick's POV.</p><p>Watch the Zootopia datestamps as the stories cover a span of over 30 years.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Foundation Datestamp, 2016NT...remembered)</p><p>He sits in a cheap, green-and-white webbed, metal folding chair, slumping backwards with a continual frown etched on his face. A blue and pink striped tie is lazily draped down his untucked, green short-sleeved shirt. His footstool is an inverted, large-mammal, metal ice bucket which currently supports his hind paws as he studies his nails, not really seeing them. Instead, his mind is consumed with replaying the argument...once again.</p><p>This scene, located at the one end of the short tunnel under the foot-bridge, has been his norm for nearly every day since the media event. The cheerful sun that shines down on him can barely make a dent in his depressed mood. Even Finnick’s repeated attempts to draw him away to run hustles provide, at best, short-term relief. For after each scam, Nick would always return here to his folding chair, plop down, prop up his hind paws and contemplate his nails as he slowly sucks on a straw, draining the refillable cup of blueberry seltzer to the last drop while he again laments over the argument.</p><p>It’s been six weeks now since he stormed away from her, and yet the pain still feels fresh.</p><p>“Never let them see that they get to you,” he mumbles, a sad chuckle following.</p><p>“Nick?”</p><p>Ears splay and eyes go wide as the tod jumps from his chair, head whipping around at the sound of her voice.</p><p><em>No!</em> He yells internally. <em>It’s just your imagination!</em></p><p>“Nick?”</p><p>
  <em>She is here! Why?! Didn’t she drive that dagger in deep enough already? Ignore her! Maybe, she’ll just go away.</em>
</p><p>Falling back into the chair, he brings the straw back to his lips. Feet prop back up on the metal can.</p><p><em>Don’t let her get to you. Don’t let her get to you</em>, he internally chants.</p><p>His walls go up.</p><p>“Oh, Nick!” she sings from right above him.</p><p><em>That voice!</em> his heart cries.</p><p><em>No! Remember the pain, Wilde!</em> He argues back to himself.</p><p>“Night howlers aren't wolves. They’re toxic flowers,” Judy announces while skipping down the path from the bridge.</p><p>“I think someone is targeting predators on purpose and making them go savage.”</p><p>His heart pleads. <em>She’s standing right next to you! Right here! Talk to her!</em></p><p><em>No! Remember the hurt! Her fear of me! The fox repellent!</em> He counters. <em> Just...just walk away.</em></p><p>Slowly putting down his drink, he stands, dropping his sun-blocking Wayfarers on the metal foot-stool as he walks towards the darken tunnel.</p><p>”Wow...Isn’t that interesting...” he comments without emotion, not even looking at the doe as he enters the tunnel.</p><p>“Wait!” she calls, the cry already strengthening his heart’s argument.</p><p>“I know you’ll never forgive me. And, I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t forgive me either.”</p><p>At the end of the tunnel, he stops, staring at the ground before him. His walls are already beginning to crumble. In his right hand, his thumb flicks a button.</p><p>“I was ignorant and irresponsible and small-minded. But predators shouldn’t suffer because of my mistakes. I have to fix this.”</p><p>
  <em>What about this predator?! I thought you believed in me! Asked me to be your partner! Then...then you tossed me in with ‘them’, like I was the next to go savage.</em>
</p><p>“But, I can’t do it without you.”</p><p>Her last words slice through him, almost taking him to his knees.</p><p>
  <em>She...still believes in me?</em>
</p><p>“And after we’re done, you can hate me. And...(sob)...and, that’ll be fine; because, I was a <em>horrible</em> friend, and I hurt you. And, you can walk away knowing that you were right all along.”</p><p>“I really am just a dumb bunny.”</p><p>His walls collapse.</p><p>
  <em>No more! No more self-pity. No more depression. This is Carrots! My friend, and she just came here to apologize. No one ever apologizes to a fox! And, she came here to ask for my help. MY help! She needs ME!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Am I going to let her go?! Am I going to walk out on her, again?!</em>
</p><p>Taking a breath, the tod flicks the switch again with his thumb.</p><p>
  <em>No...no, I am not.</em>
</p><p>“I really am just a dumb bunny,” sounds the metallic parody of Judy’s voice.</p><p><em>Not saying that a little hustle isn’t warranted though…</em> Nick chuckles internally as he raises his right arm to expose the carrot-pen recorder.</p><p>“I really am just a dumb bunny,” sounds a second time from the tinny speaker.</p><p>“Don’t worry Carrots. I’ll let you erase it,” he offers calmly while turning towards the bunny.</p><p>“...in 48 hours.”</p><p>And then he sees her standing there, crying.</p><p>
  <em>Dammit, Wilde! You are such a jerk!</em>
</p><p>After a defeated exhale of breath, he opens his arms towards the doe. “All right. Get in here,” he offers as the doe slowly plods forward, finally thumping her head on the tod’s chest.</p><p>“Okay. Oh, you bunnies. You’re so emotional,” Nick softly lectures, as he lightly pats Judy on her head with his left fore paw while pulling her towards him with the carrot-pen carrying right.</p><p>“There we go. Deep breath,” he consoles as Judy still sobs.</p><p>
  <em>Settle her down. Joke with her.</em>
</p><p>“Are you just trying to steal the pen? Is that what this is?” he quips while faking a game of keep-away with the plastic carrot.</p><p>Gaining a welcome laugh, he lifts the pen upwards as Judy attempts a fake grab which causes her to shift her hind paw resulting in a shooting pain that goes right up Nick’s spine.</p><p>
  <em>Ouch!</em>
</p><p>“You are standing on my tail, though. Off, off, off, off…”</p><p>
  <em>OK, Karma. I probably deserved that...</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Claim</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This memory occurs right after Chapter 13 (Saved) of "Foundation".</p><p>The next few chapters will hold to this time slot before moving forward.</p><p>Just a little dose of Wildehopps fluffiness that defines their growing relationship in this AU.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Foundation Datestamp, 2016...the following evening)</p><p>Seated on the train bench, Nick cuddles Judy closer to his side as the doe’s eyes close. The sun had set only an hour earlier, and the commuter train’s dimmed lights cast a soft glow on the bunny’s face, making her even more beautiful to the tod...if that’s possible.</p><p>“It’s been a long day, Carrots. Go ahead and rest,” he offers. “I’ll let you know when we come to my stop.”</p><p>“What about you?” she asks, her eyes still closed. “You know, it’s barely been over a day since you were shot.”</p><p>“I wasn’t running in and out of Little Rodentia like you were, Fluff. I’m fine,” he responds, holding her slightly tighter, gaining a contented “Hmm…” from the doe as she nuzzles into his side.</p><p>It had been a day…</p><p>After meeting Rocky in the makeshift hospital tent as the physician handled plague cases of Little Rodentia, they had stepped out to find Chief Bogo standing before them. Grunting his trademark, perfunctory greeting, the hulking water buffalo handed Judy an envelope containing her badge, admonishing her for “absentmindedly leaving it behind on the former mayor’s desk”.</p><p>“I’ll assume your abrupt leave-of-absence has completed. As such, I expect to see you at 8:00AM on Monday morning, assuming that you are cleared by your physician.”</p><p>Then, as he turned to rejoin the ZPD team that had been hastily dispatched to the scene, he paused and looked back to add:</p><p>“And, Hopps? Good job here,” which made her day.</p><p>Minutes later, Wolford tracked them down, pulling them away from eavesdropping ears.</p><p>“Palver wants both of you and Rocky to return to the Foundation. Now that formal Emergency Management teams are arriving, he’s concerned about exposure.”</p><p>“You go ahead, Carrots. My unexpected absence has left a couple of things unhandled that I need to stop by my apartment to address,” Nick responds.</p><p>The wolf detective shakes his head. “Nick, you and Judy have been identified. We have reports of the Press already gathering outside of Judy’s former apartment,”</p><p>“And mine?” Nick asks, a smirk growing on his face.</p><p>“Uhh...well, we really don’t know where you live,” the blue-clad wolf responds.</p><p>“Couldn’t find me, huh? Probably dug through all your contacts too, right?” Nick challenges, getting a shrug back from the other canid.</p><p>“Neither will the Press. Don’t worry,” the vulpin laughs. “Let Palver know that I’ll check in after I finish my task.”</p><p>Turning towards the rabbit, Nick adds, “And I’ll see you too when I--”</p><p>The tod freezes, reading her eyes.</p><p>“Uh uh,” Judy states flatly, forearms crossed, foot tapping. “I’m going with you.”</p><p>“Carrots, I told you that my place really isn’t ready for visitors.”</p><p>“Like I care?” the doe shoots back. “I’ve nearly lost you already this week. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”</p><p>Staring into hard amethyst, Nick knows he’s not winning this argument.</p><p>Con-mammal smile suddenly locks firmly on his face. “My dear, would you like to join me for a trip to my place?”</p><p>“I would be delighted to,” Judy replies sweetly with her own ‘you knew you weren’t going to get away with it’ smile.</p><p>“And here I thought Rocky was going to be the hard one to drag back to the base,” Wolford laments, looking between the two. “Fine. I’ll let Palver know,” he adds before walking away, muttering to himself.</p><p>Avoiding reporters, police, and all others, the pair had snuck away from the throngs gathering around Little Rodentia and made their way to the nearest commuter train stop, which brings them to his current memory.</p><p>As Nick continues to nestle the doe against his side, he overhears a snort and a negative comment about “inters”. Looking across the aisle, the tod spots a pig couple, both staring back at the fox/bunny pair with disgusted looks on their faces, which sparks an internal need in the vulpin for a snarky comment.</p><p>“I’m sorry. You’re going to need to find your own bunny. This one is taken,” Nick quips with his con-mammal smile again affixed, gaining a most satisfactory response from the swines as they both snort and then exit the car.</p><p>Feeling a righteous sense of victory, the tod looks back towards his partner...and his smile evaporates as he faces wide, surprised lapin eyes and rigidly erect ears.</p><p>“Are you putting a permanent claim on me, Slick?”</p><p>Realizing what he just said, Nick begins to stammer. “Uh...C-carrots. Look, I can explain. I--.”</p><p>Ears suddenly drop, as the doe’s face takes a sinister look to it.</p><p>
  <em>Did she just hustle me?</em>
</p><p>“Did you just hustle me?” the tod finally voices, which is answered by a large, toothy smile.</p><p>
  <em>Yep. She hustled me...</em>
</p><p>“Sly bunny,” he concedes, shaking his head.</p><p>“Dumb fox!” Judy all but sings, and then reaching up, she places a soft kiss on the side of the auburn-furred muzzle.</p><p>“It’s OK, Nick. They can go find their own fox too. This one is taken.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Merlot</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Continued thanks for posting kudos, and please feel free to leave comments.</p><p>It's always a pleasure to hear from my readers.</p><p>Lordy...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Paws intertwined, fox and bunny happily walk from the train station towards the small business district in Foxtown. A quick stop at the local pizza shop nets a medium, “half-veggie / half-predator delight” deep dish that Nick currently holds in his other paw. After two more stores pass by, the pair arrive at a tailor shop where the tod pauses.</p><p>Releasing from the doe’s grasp, Nick fishes out a set of keys from his pocket, and after unlocking the door next to the shop’s entrance, he swings it open. Ahead of them, a long, concrete stairwell is revealed that extends to the second floor of the building. Leading the way, the tod allows the self-locking door to close behind them and then proceeds to climb the now dimly lit passage up to a landing where two doors greet them, straight-ahead and to the right. A second key is turned, and the forward door opens.</p><p>“My dear, allow me to invite you into my humble abode,” the tod offers with a sweeping arm flourish, inviting the doe into the entryway.</p><p>A flick of a switch, and interior lights flare, revealing an efficiency sized apartment with a galley kitchen to the right and a front room containing an old, overstuffed couch and an equally comfortable, if mismatched, chair. Both are arranged to face a very modern, flatscreen TV that’s cabled to a number of electronic gaming and entertainment systems that sit on a coffee table in the middle.</p><p>To the left, beyond a coat closet, a short hallway leads to the singular bathroom and probably the bedroom, Judy surmises.</p><p>Surprisingly, to the doe’s amazement, the apartment is rather clean and clutter-free.</p><p>“Nick, this place is quite nice. Why would you suggest that I would be disappointed?”</p><p>“Well, for just me, this is fine. But, being the guest apartment, it’s a bit tight for having company,” Nick explains, clearing the coffee table of gaming consoles and controllers to make room for the pizza. “I had rather hoped to clean up the main residence before bringing you here,” he then adds, pointing towards the wall where Judy notices an inset door that separates the kitchen from the small living area.</p><p>Smiling at her wonder, Nick invites the doe to take a seat on the couch as he steps back into the kitchen.</p><p>“The other door, it opens to the main residence?” She asks, as he rummages through a cabinet, plates, silverware and glasses clinking.</p><p>“Yep,” Nick replies, setting down plates for the pizza along with wine glasses. “Three bedrooms, two baths, full kitchen and dining area, and a big family room,” Nick details. “My childhood home,” he amends as he again steps towards the kitchen.</p><p>Retrieving a bottle of wine and setting it on the table next to the pizza, the tod suggests, “After the kind of day we’ve had, I thought a nice Merlot would be appropriate to wash down Foxtown’s finest pizza.”</p><p>Placing one of the clear-stemmed wine glasses in front of the doe, Nick smoothly uncorks the bottle, pouring a measured amount into the glass for her to taste.</p><p>“I can’t say that I’m a great connoisseur of wine, Nick,” Judy admits, staring at the glass. “I’ll have to defer to you on the quality.”</p><p>A small chuckle, and the fox pours himself a glass and then adds more to the bunny’s.</p><p>“In that case, Carrots, you are about to partake in one of the finer wines that is actually produced at a local vineyard owned by a fox family that I know,” Nick boasts, taking a sip and relishing the taste.</p><p>“But, I thought you knew everyone, Slick,” Judy quips with a smirk before taking her own first taste of the red wine.</p><p>“True, Fluff,” Nick responds with a chuckle, and flips the pizza box open, offering the doe a piece from the vegetarian half before sitting down on the other side of the couch. “But, this family I happen to know a little better as one of them also works for me in the shop below.”</p><p>“You own the tailor shop?”</p><p>“Manage, Carrots,” Nick clarifies. “Technically, the shop and this building are owned by my mother who is a seamstress and handles day-to-day events. But, the business side is managed by me. Tomorrow happens to be payday at the shop, which is why I had to come back to arrange the checks.”</p><p>Shaking her head, hoping for clarity, Judy discovers that her wineglass has already been drained, suspecting the emptiness for her momentary confusion. Nick mistakes the action for a silent request for a refill, which he obliges.</p><p>“Go ahead. Ask the question,” the fox relents with a sigh, anticipating the challenge.</p><p>“Why are you a street hustler if you manage the family business?!” the doe finally probes, a bit more forcefully than she initially intended. She blames the wine.</p><p>Taking a healthy drink out of his own glass, Nick swallows his next bite of delicious pizza before leaning forward to explain. “I’ve only managed the business for the past seven years or so. The former business manager, Honey, retired, and my mother…,” Nick shrugs. “Well, my mother is great with the needle, but not so much with the books.”</p><p>Refilling his own glass to help wash down the next slice of pizza, he continues. “I had been out on the streets for about a decade when Honey retired. Things were tough after my father died, and I sort of hit the road to take the burden off of my mother when I was sixteen or so. I learned a lot about business and made a number of connections. But, Mom was never very happy with my...endeavors, which put some distance between us.”</p><p>“When Honey retired, Mom needed help. So after some fairly difficult conversations, we made amends. Now, I help her with the business, but still work hustles at times to stay sharp and maintain my contacts. In the end, keeping a foot on the street has helped business sales quite a bit as I can steer some customers to the shop without them ever knowing it’s really mine.”</p><p>“What happened to your dad?” Judy asks after taking a sip from the refilled glass, the need to know more about her fox being fueled by the wine.</p><p>“He, uhh…” Nick starts, and then pauses, the Merlot challenging him to bring up painful old memories. “He was attacked by a pig gang for refusing to pay into a protection racket. They wanted to make an example of him to the other fox business owners.”</p><p>“I’m so sorry,” Judy laments, ears dropping as she leans back into the couch. Unfortunately, her temporary focus on the story and the fox’s visible grief briefly makes the doe forget about the still mostly filled wine glass, which tips slightly, spilling rich Merlot on her fabricated knife vest and bodysuit.</p><p>Nick, jumping up quickly, grabs the napkins provided by the pizza restaurant and swiftly dabs the outfit, saving the couch from stains, while simultaneously retrieving the bunny’s glass from her to avoid more spillage.</p><p>“The bathroom is down and to the right,” he quickly states, pointing towards the hall. “Get some cold water on those stains.”</p><p>Leaping from the couch, Judy races down the hallway, entering the bathroom doorway. Closing the door, the bunny strips off her knife vest and peels off the body suit, quickly running both of the stained spots under the bathtub faucet. Draping the garments over the edge of the tub to drain, the doe takes a deep breath, relaxing as the immediate crisis is addressed.</p><p>Then, reality hits her...</p><p>Judy’s eyes go wide with ears rigidly straight in panic as her heartbeat speeds to the next predicament. She is standing in Nick’s bathroom clad only in her underwear (her petite form not needing a bra under the body suit and vest), and her only clothes are now soaking wet.</p><p>“A towel, maybe?” she poses to herself as she turns to what appears to be a linen closet.</p><p>Opening the door reveals a deeper closet with towels and a laundry hamper. Hanging above the hamper is a green, Nick-signature, Pawaiin shirt, which brings a smile to the doe’s face. Although clean looking, she surmises that Nick must have had it on previously, hence the reason it was on the hook and not a hanger.</p><p>Her decision made, the bunny jumps up and frees the silky shirt from the clothes hook. Then, swinging it over her back and buttoning it, Judy turns the garment into a loose-fitting dress and is suddenly awash in fox scent. Closing her eyes, it almost feels like Nick is holding her, his musk enveloping her. That thought causes a mixing of scents into the garment with her own fragrance of arousal, enhanced further by the wine.</p><p>Snapping out of her wishful daydream, Judy sighs and then opens the door. Reentering the front room, she finds Nick with his back turned towards her as he cleans up some pizza crumbs that were littering the coffee table.</p><p>“Hey Nick, I hope you don’t mind, but I found a shirt in the bathroom and borrowed it while my clothes dry.”</p><p>The fox straightens, turns to answer her...and freezes, his jaw dropping.</p><p>Standing before him is the most beautiful creature he’s ever witnessed. His green pawaiin flows over her like water. The shirt’s looseness allows for gaps between buttons, providing tantalizing glimpses of white fur on her stomach and chest. The bottom two buttons, left undone for mobility, expose wonderfully toned legs that peak through the shirt’s slit.</p><p>His eyes roll up to her face that currently holds a shy, almost embarrassed look as she nibbles on her bottom lip.</p><p>
  <em>Can she get any more beautiful?</em>
</p><p>“Nick?” the doe asks the slack-jawed fox, fearing now that she trespassed some personal boundary.</p><p>Ears drop as she begins to turn back towards the bathroom. “I’m sorry. I’ll just get a towel, or something…”</p><p>Before she can take a step, she hears, “It’s OK,” in a little more than a whisper.</p><p>Turning back, she watches as the tod takes a few hesitant steps, slowly closing on her. Silently, he reaches out and touches the fabric of the shirt with the back of his fingers. His paw, nearly large enough to span her chest, moves slowly down the buttons, inadvertently caressing her left breast, drawing a shuddered intake of her breath.</p><p>Peering up from the fore paw, amethyst locks onto emerald green, and for the first time, she witnesses a look that she’ll never forget and will always desire, the look of a predator, her fox, wanting her.</p><p>She pounces.</p><p>The unexpected impact causes the tod to stumble backwards, one arm instinctively cradling her rear below the tail as the doe’s powerful legs and thighs wrap themselves around his waist. His other arm wraps around her slim body and is enveloped by his shirt as his lips are assaulted by the bunny’s. Three reversed steps from the impact’s momentum and he hits the overstuffed chair, tumbling into it.</p><p>His lower arm, now freed, makes quick work of the shirt. Well-practiced fingers swiftly release buttons as Judy’s fore paws cradle his head behind his ears, lips rapidly kissing the side of his muzzle. With the final connection freed, Nick flicks the shirt open, running his paw upwards from smooth, taught belly to her chest. As his pads find her breasts, she deeply moans and immediately forces her tongue past his lips, tracing his fangs.</p><p>He growls deeply as the scent of aroused bunny surrounds him, his libido going primal and screaming to be released.</p><p>Suddenly, she pulls back, fore paws trapping his muzzle on both sides as she again locks eyes with him.</p><p>“Nick! Bedroom! Please!” she commands, and with swift motion, Judy again finds herself airborne. Lapin legs again lock around the vulpin’s waist as the unbuttoned green shirt balloons behind her, slipping down her arms and hitting the hallway floor as they pass through the bedroom doorway.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Morning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Continuation from the previous chapter (same timeline).</p><p>Pure, unapologetic Wildehopps fluff :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The early morning sunshine slices through a slight gap in the bedroom curtains, allowing a beam to home in on the tod’s eyes. The perfectly aligned flare sends painful morning greetings to the naturally nocturnal fox, forcing reluctant acceptance of wakefulness along with a personal vendetta against the maker of the obviously flawed and tragically mislabeled “blackout curtains”.</p><p>Internally grumbling about his fate, the fox stirs. His reflexive, morning stretch is suddenly aborted as delightful memories of the previous night flood his mind, along with magical awareness of the doe spooned in front of him. His arm currently holds her close, while his soft, fluffy tail nearly blankets her, the tip of which is being lightly hugged by her own paw. This is the second morning in a row that he’s awoken to find her nestled into him, a sequence he unequivocally decides is not to be broken.</p><p>Further reports begin to make their way into his still foggy brain, indicating overuse of muscles...and other parts. Being fox and bunny, there were differences to be explored and overcome last night, and to both of their delights, they overcame...and then again a few times more.</p><p>A proud smile forms on the fox’s lips as he lowers his nose to breathe in the sweet scent of bunny, and as he samples, it suddenly becomes sweeter with overtones of lapin arousal.</p><p>“Bunny ears are sensitive, Nick, and hot breath on them is a real turn-on,” the tod unexpectedly hears from the motionless doe.</p><p>“Carrots, please. A little more rest, I beg of you. Aren’t you satisfied with our activities from last night?”</p><p>Turning in his arms, the doe faces him on the pillow, a serious look on her face.</p><p>“Nick, you forget. I am a bunny. Not everything they say about us is an exaggeration,” she states factly, his eyes getting wide with fear as she continues. ”Up to this point in my life, I have pretty much ignored that aspect. But now, with you, I feel that I finally have an opportunity to enjoy that part of my species.”</p><p><em>Uh oh. What have I done?!</em> the tod panics internally.</p><p>Raising up above him and pushing his shoulders to the mattress, Judy leans forward and whispers in his ear, “and, the only reason your rest time is not over yet is...” the doe winces.</p><p>“...I’m a little sore.”</p><p>A smug smile spreads across the fox’s face. “Aww, is your foxy boyfriend too much for the wittle bunny?”</p><p>...which he immediately regrets as purple eyes suddenly snap towards his.</p><p>“Slick, I am a female bunny in her prime. Do you really want to challenge me here?”</p><p>Emitting an audible gulp, the tod folds. “No, ma’am. Have I mentioned how beautiful your eyes are?”</p><p>Bunny features soften, a smile growing on her face.</p><p>“Good boy. Now let’s get some more rest,” Judy offers, laying her head down in his ruff. ”And then your wittle bunny will see how ‘too much’ is her foxy boyfriend.”</p><p>Eyes wide open, Nick lays in terror.</p><p>
  <em>Oh dear Karma, Please let me survive this day.  I promise I'll--</em>
</p><p>His internal prayer is interrupted as the doe stirs on his chest, which is followed by the application of light, lapin kisses that begin tracing a path upwards towards his neck.</p><p>“Uh...Carrots? Rest?”</p><p>“You just feel good, Nick,” Judy responds as the soft kiss migration terminates on his lips before transforming into long, deep versions. Breaking for a breath, the doe adds, “I thought that a little activity may actually help the soreness, and then we can rest again before the ‘too much’ test.”</p><p>
  <em>Karma, are you even listening?!</em>
</p><p>--------------------------------</p><p>Hours later, he staggers into the kitchen, his legs made of rubber. The trip down the short hallway had never felt so long. Grabbing a glass from the cabinet, Nick fills it with water from the tap, draining it quickly. Leaning over to fill it again, he hears the tub faucet squeak open through the bathroom door that sits ajar. Moments later, the sound changes as the shower is engaged, accompanied by the humming of a happy bunny who steps into the tub, pulling the curtain closed around her.</p><p>Leaning against the wall, the second glass is drained as the tod closes his eyes.</p><p><em>She is going to be the death of me</em>, he laments internally.</p><p>Listening to upbeat, lapin humming and focusing on the light indicating the still unlatched door, Nick battles internally.</p><p>“Well, what the hell. You gotta go sometime, Wilde” he finally decides. Then, after setting the glass down on the counter, he stretches and begins a slow walk up the hallway.</p><p>Moments later, the sound of a shower curtain being slid open is followed by the doe’s comment.</p><p>“I wondered when you were going to join me...”</p><p>--------------------------------------</p><p>After a mutually assisted shower washing, pausing at times for ad hoc make-out sessions (and, surprisingly to the fox, he was able to achieve...more), the drain stopper is closed. As the tub fills with hot water, fox and bunny sit and enjoy a relaxing bath, each feeling the benefits as pains and strains of their activities are soothed by the soaking heat.</p><p>Nick’s back rests against the end of the tub, arms spread on each side of the tub’s edge. His head is tipped backwards against the tiled wall with Judy perched on his lap, her back against his chest. With lapin ears lowered, tips barely below water level, the doe’s eyes are closed as she lightly strokes the fox’s soggy tail that is curled in her lap.</p><p>“Remember: Sensitive there, rabbit,” Nick reminds as his tail suddenly twitches away from the doe’s paws. “I don’t want to do a reflex leap from this tub and dump you in the water.”</p><p>Judy laughs as her ears rise, bracketing the tod’s muzzle. After reaching forward and closing the faucet valve, her paws return to the fox’s tail, now handling it with a lighter touch.</p><p>“OK. I’ll be nice. I just love your tail, even when it’s wet. Although, I love it even more in bed when it’s dry and fluffy and wrapped around me like a blanket.”</p><p>Turning her head to see her fox’s eyes, the doe shifts topics.</p><p>“It’s time to come clean, Slick.”</p><p>Dropping his head back against the tile again, Nick groans, his eyes closing. “That’s a little on the nose saying that while we’re soaking in a tub. Isn’t it, Fluff?”</p><p>Another laugh from the doe is followed by an apologetic peck on the tod’s muzzle for the inadvertent joke. “OK. Sorry for that. So, I’ll take it easy on you for the first question.”</p><p>“Fine. Go ahead, Officer. Let the inquiry begin.”</p><p>Laying her head back against the tod again, Judy asks into the room. “Why couldn’t anyone find you here? Didn’t you say it’s owned by your mom? That shouldn’t be too hard to trace.”</p><p>“Well, true, if it was in her name,” Nick responds, relaxing a bit more in the tub and rearranging the doe on his lap to reduce proximity to an already overworked body part.</p><p>She shifts back and gives her tail a flick to wordlessly let the fox know that she was happy where she was, and that he’ll just have to deal with it.</p><p>“Ahem…,” the tod coughs, praying to Karma for swift, soothing relief from the heated water while wondering if there was a monastery nearby where he might devote himself to lifelong celibacy from hereout.</p><p>“You were saying, Slick?” Judy asks in a totally innocent voice.</p><p>“Yes. Well, uhh...the shop was started by my grandfather,” Nick starts while subtly trying to again adjust the doe away from the one body part that really could use less rubbing right now...and failing.</p><p>After a deep breath, knowing that he’s lost the positional war and will have just put up with reparations, the tod continues.</p><p>“Granddad was a great tailor and made quality suits and coats. But, it was my grandmother that brought the start-up money. So, the shop was in her name, and when she passed, it stayed in her estate under her maiden name.”</p><p>Noticing a pause, Judy presses. “And her name was?”</p><p>“Can’t keep any secrets, can I, Fluff?”</p><p>“Nope,” she responds, popping the “p” while ever so slightly adding pressure to his captive tail, reaffirming her requirement for full disclosure.</p><p>Nick sighs, knowing full well that his mate won’t let the subject go before responding.</p><p>“Loxley”</p><p>Total silence fills the room. Even the faucet seems to hold the water drop it was looking to expel.</p><p>“You’re kidding me,” Judy finally voices, releasing his tail to turn and face the fox, assessing truth in his eyes.</p><p>“Why do you think my father’s nickname was ‘Robin’?” Nick inquires, waggling his eyebrows. “And before you ask, it was purely coincidental that my mother’s name is Marian; although as I understand it, my grandparents were thrilled to find out that my father was courting her.”</p><p>“Now, if you are done interrogating me, Officer, may I implore you to set free this poor, waterlogged fox? For, I fear the water has turned tepid and no longer provides healing relief.”</p><p>A smile and a quick peck to his muzzle, and the doe lifts off the fox’s lap, much to the tod’s great delight.</p><p>“Fine. But, you are not off the hook, soaked fox. I still have many questions to ask.”</p><p>“Carrots, if this is your form of water torture, I will be more than happy to submit...”</p><p>-------------------------</p><p>A quick call is made, and an hour later, fox and bunny are again seated on the couch enjoying freshly delivered groceries from the local market. As Nick enjoys a delicious, cricket breakfast burrito, he watches Judy unconsciously munching on her own veggie burrito while intently working her phone.</p><p>“What’s got you so fascinated, Carrots?” the tod finally inquires.</p><p>“Hmm?” Judy reponds, breaking her concentration from the screen. “Oh. I was just reviewing apartments. Now that I no longer have my place at the Grand Pangolin Arms, I was looking for a place to move into.”</p><p>Eyes returning to the screen, the doe begins tapping again before a vulpin paw eclipses the phone, lowering the unit to her lap. The action causes her to jerk slightly with unexpected surprise. With her ears shooting up, Judy looks into Nick’s eyes. Her reaction is quickly lessened by the softness of the look she sees on his face.</p><p>“My love,” Nick begins, her breath catching as the use of the new, endearing nickname takes a quick trip around her heart. “Two nights ago, I awoke in a hospital bed to find myself cuddling you. This morning, I was gifted with the same joy in my own bed. If you rent another apartment, I will lose that opportunity, and I have no desire to give it up.”</p><p>“This guest unit is a little small for both of us. But, next door is available. My mother lives two blocks from here with her sister following my uncle’s passing a year ago. If you agree, I would like to offer that we move into the apartment together.”</p><p>Ears drop as the doe’s eyes moisten. “You want me to move in with you?”</p><p>A warm smile grows on the fox’s face. “I would love nothing more.”</p><p>Scooting closer to the bunny, Nick reaches out and takes the doe’s paws into his, emerald green eyes settling on hers.</p><p>“It took you all of forty-eight hours to turn my world upside down and make me realize how great you are and how empty my life was. Then, I spent the next six weeks miserable because I let my history get in the way and walk away from you. I’ve learned my lesson. I don’t ever want to let that happen again.”</p><p>“If you join me here, then when I leave for the Academy, I’ll know that my home is still a home while giving me something wonderful to look forward to when I return.”</p><p>Bunny tears fall and are wiped away by the tod’s thumbs.</p><p>“Oh, you bunnies. You’re so emotional,” the fox quips gaining a quick, watery laugh from the doe.</p><p>Suddenly standing before the tod, Judy’s grip tightens on his paws, pulling him up and into a hug. Then releasing one paw, the doe tugs him away from the couch towards the hallway.</p><p>“Uh...dear?”</p><p>“Nick, you just told me how important I am to you and asked me to move in. That requires a special answer,” the doe answers, only pausing briefly to respond before continuing her initial march with fox in tow.</p><p>“Umm...Can’t I just get a ‘Yes’?”</p><p>“Nope,” Judy responds firmly, her tug strengthening as she increases her determined pace.</p><p>“How about a raincheck?” the tod pleads.</p><p>“Nope,” comes the response as the bedroom door closes behind them with finality.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Rituals</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>(Foundation Datestamp, 2016NT...six months later)</span>
</p><p>He sits, well...more like sprawls, on the couch in the apartment which used to be his childhood home. Through the slightly opened door of the hall closet, he sees his ZPD dress uniform, proudly draped over a hanger. The gold badge seems to glow against the solid blue and was affixed there not six hours earlier by the beautiful grey rabbit currently snuggled next to him, his to-be partner come Monday morning. A bottle of the favorite Merlot sits open on the coffee table, two partially drained glasses next to it as the pair await a vegetable lasagna that slowly bakes in the oven of the full-sized kitchen. The repast was thoughtfully prepared by Judy and refrigerated before she made the trip to the academy for the graduation and her highly applauded speech.</p><p>Nick’s eyes are partially closed, resting, as the doe works over her phone. Intermittent beeps signal that she’s engaged with a few (or dozens, given the size of the Hopps clan) conversations.</p><p>“You’re receiving a number of congratulation messages from my family, Nick,” the reclining bunny informs.</p><p>“Yes. I had to turn off my phone earlier. The beeps were coming in so fast, it was sounding like Horse code,” the tod responds, gaining a quick chuckle from his couch mate.</p><p>Holding the phone against her chest, Judy takes a deep breath, indicating a change of subject.</p><p>“Nick, would you please tell me about vulpine courtship rituals?”</p><p>To a long-time bachelor, a title that is applicable to single male mammals in their thirties (such as the fox currently seated on the couch), any question that can be construed as a challenge to that status (such as a girlfriend asking about courtship rituals) is guaranteed to have an automatic response, regardless of how tail-over-muzzle in love said bachelor is of that girlfriend. This “automatic response” includes an acceleration of heartbeats generally associated with the flight fear reflex of a mammal, despite the long practiced “never let them see that they get to you” motto, by which our ex-conmammal lives.</p><p>Unfortunately, for the fox, the automatic response is easily noticed by lapin ears, a trait which has gained Judy respect among her peers for being able to swiftly catch lies from perpetrators in interrogation rooms, even when she’s six feet distant from the accused.</p><p>Currently, it is barely six inches from her ear to his chest…</p><p>Not surprisingly, when Judy looks up, she is met with the wide emerald eyes of a panicking male.</p><p>“Wh-why do you ask,” Nick stutters, which causes the doe to begin laughing.</p><p>Turning around and applying a short peck on the fox’s muzzle for reassurance, Judy explains.</p><p>“I’ve been able to stave off inquiries from my parents about us to this point because you were at the Academy. But, now that you’ve graduated, the questions are going to get more frequent...and intrusive.”</p><p>Pausing to take a deep breath and exhale to ground herself, the doe continues. “I’ve read some things about fox culture that may help me back them off, but I wanted to know what you want first so that I don’t mislead them.”</p><p>“Well…” Nick drags on a bit, delaying to allow him to consider. “What does rabbit culture say?”</p><p>Judy’s mouth frowns a bit, her ears dropping. “Nick, if you were a buck, we would have been married after our first night together, and I would already have delivered to you a litter of kits. But, since I’m in no hurry to hang up my badge as you being a fox eliminates the kits part, I was just hoping you could give me your view of fox culture.”</p><p>Another delaying breath to set his thoughts, and the tod starts, “Umm...well with foxes, we sort of take our time. Many couples try living together first for maybe a year or two, and if it works out, then they’ll get married and start producing kits.”</p><p>Digesting the information for a bit, the doe asks. “And, is that what you want?”</p><p>Throwing his head back in surrender, the tod pleads, “Come on! We just got home! This is as bad or worse than the ‘Do I look better in this dress or that one?’ kind of inquiry, which is irrelevant as you could wear a burlap sack and still be the most beautiful mammal I’ve ever seen.”</p><p>Ears shoot up on that analogy, only to fold again as the bunny reaches up to stroke the fox’s muzzle.</p><p>“Slick, you’re already getting lucky tonight as a celebration of your graduation. Beautiful words like that, however, are going to change it to a marathon session,” which again causes widening of fox eyes.</p><p>“It’s been a long day, sweetheart. Can’t we just enjoy our pasta and relax?”</p><p>A smile crosses the lapin’s face as she strokes his muzzle again. “Sure, dear. Now, about that answer?”</p><p>“What say we get our lives settled first as ZPD partners, and then evaluate our future from there, OK?” Nick negotiates, after which he is saved by a ‘ding’ from the kitchen timer, indicating that the lasagna is ready.</p><p>-------------------------</p><p>A forkful of marinara magic is slowly reviewed by the fox’s tongue, savoring every drop of sauce and resulting in an appropriate “Mmmm” sound as he swallows.</p><p>“Carrots, if I knew you could cook like this, I would have begged you to move in with me the first day we met at Jumbo’s,” Nick professes.</p><p>“I don’t have a large repertoire,” Judy admits with a smile. “But, being one of the early litters, I had to learn my way around the kitchen a bit in order to help feed the ever growing Hopps family. I think it was that responsibility that helped fuel my desire to be something different.”</p><p>“Well, this is a most delicious example of those learnings,” the tod compliments. “And, it sure beats the microwave fast food or questionable take-out that I generally associate with meals. If it wasn’t for my mother insisting that I drop by weekly for formal dinners, I suspect that I would never see anything as delicious as this.”</p><p>“Your mom invited me over a few times too while you were at the Academy, '' Judy reports while nibbling some of the side-salad she prepared to go with the lasagna. “She is a good cook.”</p><p>“The best,” Nick gloats. “Although, this might just give her a serious run for her money.”</p><p>“Let’s not bring it up, then. I kinda think she likes me, and I’d rather not dampen it with jealousy over cooking skills,” Judy cautions.</p><p>“Well, you can bribe my silence with more of this,” Nick offers. “Besides, she doesn’t just like you. She adores you. I’m more concerned that she’ll drop me and adopt you instead,” the fox adds, gaining a laugh from the doe.</p><p>Then, pausing to shift the conversation, the tod asks, “Can I ask you a different question?”</p><p>“Sure, Slick. What?” the doe responds, ears raised in interest.</p><p>“You said something quickly that me being a fox eliminates kits. Are you sure?”</p><p>Ears drop as Judy sets aside her fork. Amethyst eyes look up to find her fox.</p><p>“Yes. Pretty sure. I...uh, did some research before. It was the reason why our first night went the way it did. I knew we could be…”</p><p>“Au Natural?” Nick hints, getting a shy nod from his partner.</p><p>Eyebrows knit on the fox’s face. “But when did you research this? I had pretty much been with you ever since you came to me at the bridge, and your phone was dead at the Foundation.”</p><p>Ears now go pink. “While I was at home, after I left the ZPD.”</p><p>Vulpin eyes widen with revelation. “How long did you know?”</p><p>Rabbit eyes no longer hold his as she looks down at her cooling pasta. “I think by the time I returned home.” Hopeful eyes then look up. “You?”</p><p>“Five minutes after I left the precinct,” Nick says matter-of-factly while shaking his head. “I was hurting so bad that by the time I made it to the bridge, I was pretty sure that it was because I was in love with you.”</p><p>The doe exits her chair, swiftly moving to the other side of the table and hopping into the fox’s lap. Bunny arms wrap around the vulpin’s neck as she places her face next to his while he wraps arms around her back, holding her close.</p><p>“Oh, Nick. I’m so sorry.”</p><p>“It was my fault, Fluff. I let my ego and anger get the best of me and caused me to make the worst decision I’ve made in a long time by walking out on you. Thankfully, Karma was kind and it all worked out.”</p><p>Lowering the bunny to the ground, Nick offers. “Now, let’s finish this lovely lasagna, and afterwards, I’ll introduce you to the finest ice cream in Foxtown. It’s not Jumbo’s, but still quite good.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Robin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Continued thanks for the comments and kudos.</p><p>I do appreciate them.</p><p>Lordy...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Time jump +6 months since the previous chapter.</p><p>(Foundation Datestamp, 2017NT)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s late, nearly midnight, as he exhales a breath of exhaustion while opening his apartment door. The case to which he had been assigned had reluctantly split him from his beloved partner as nocturnal vision was a needed advantage for the nighttime stake-out, one of the very few qualities his superbunny sadly lacks. Thankfully, the perpetrators decided to make it an early evening event, and the SWAT team was able to squash the evil-doers before the witching hour, allowing him to make a swift exit from his fellow canines. Not that hanging around a pack of wolves was distasteful (besides being a fellow Foundationer, Wolford was quickly becoming a good friend), it’s just that given the choice, Nick was far more inclined to fur-on-fur snuggle his favorite lagomorph then sit steely-eyed in an unmarked van with an increasingly anxious squad of lupines.</p><p>Internally, he cautions himself to be quiet as Judy would already be in bed. Her shift had ended hours earlier, and she would not be expecting him until the wee-hours of the morning anyway. As he silently slides the door open, the tod notices something unusual in the room’s lighting, a dim flickering of warm-white light. Stepping into the entrance, he spots the culprit, a single candle lit atop a healthy sized slice of pie that his vulpine night vision discerns is stuffed full of blueberries from the Hopps Family Farm.</p><p>“See something you like, Slick?” Nick hears, jolting his attention away from the saliva inducing treat towards the source of the question, a bunny - correction, a beautiful doe wearing a sheer nightgown...and nothing else, as she steps into the room’s light from the darkness of the hallway.</p><p>Nick’s brain scrambles.</p><p>“I uhh...I thought I saw the most delicious thing I could imagine,” Nick starts, brain cells struggling for coherent thought as he now openly goggles the veil-wrapped bunny. “But, I realize now that I was mistaken.”</p><p>Closing the door behind him and taking slow steps towards Judy, his eyes shamelessly work the doe over from beautiful amethysts to shapely, lapin legs, the robe hiding little. “It appears that it was only the second most.”</p><p>A fox paw circles behind the doe, gently bringing her in light contact to him as lips softly meet. Being still in full uniform and heavier SWAT equipment, Nick keeps the contact brief as his outfit doesn’t provide for a comfortable embrace.</p><p>“This is all very lovely, sweetheart, but…” Nick states, his eyes still affixed on the doe’s beauty.</p><p>“You want to know why the pie, and this?” Judy responds, her front paw traversing her front and gaining a nod from the fox.</p><p>“Do you know what day this is?” the doe asks sweetly, her paws playing with the kevlar fabric of the fox’s vest.</p><p>“Uhh...Thursday?” Nick answers, ears dropping as he reflexively pulls away slightly. Internal alarms begin ringing.</p><p>Motioning with her muzzle to look up the analog clock that’s mounted on the kitchen wall, the tod sees that the minute hand has surpassed the hour hand beyond the twelve.</p><p>“It’s Friday,” Judy coos. “It’s one year ago today that I returned to you from Bunny Burrow, and that you wrapped your tail around me when we hugged, showing me that you loved me.”</p><p>“Ohhhh...” Nick responds, realizing that he’s probably not in too much trouble for overlooking the event given the late (or early) hour. “Well, Happy Anniversary,” he then adds, giving the doe another soft, if longer, kiss.</p><p>Eyebrows crinkle on the fox as a question forms. “How did you know that I was coming home this soon?”</p><p>“Wolford texted me,” Judy responds with a short giggle, separating from her fox. “He knows that I wanted to make today special and actually sent me a link his wife gave him on where to shop for...special nightwear,” she adds while giving a full turn, punctuated with a suggestive flick of her very exposed tail.</p><p>A broad smile grows on the fox’s face. “Remind me to thank him and complement his missus on her fashion sense.”</p><p>“Umm-hmm,” the doe agrees, closing on the tod and running her paw on his arm, “So later today, we’re going to have a picnic lunch at the bridge to celebrate and then return here to pack for a weekend trip to Bunny Burrow.”</p><p>“Wait. What?” Nick shakes his head processing. “We’re going to your farm?”</p><p>“Yep,” Judy responds, the “p” popping. It’s the popping “p” that always lets Nick know that a final decision has been made without any option for negotiation. “There’s something there I need to check on.”</p><p>“Like what?”</p><p>“It’s just something personal. Don’t fret it,” the doe says with a shrug. “Besides, you haven’t been to the farm since that weekend break from the Academy during Carrot Days. My family would love to see you, again.”</p><p>“But, don’t you have to work in the morning?”</p><p>“Nope.” Again, the popping “p”. “Chief Bogo gave me the day off as he knew that you would be working late and not available for the first shift. And, since I was a very active bunny yesterday, I finished all the paperwork and filing he needed. So, he gave us an extended weekend.”</p><p>Pulling the fox down a bit and raising on her toes, Judy whispers in Nick’s left ear. “I think Wolford might have slipped a message to the chief that it’s an anniversary for us.”</p><p>“Now come on over and enjoy your pie,” Judy commands, releasing her mate and stepping towards the table. Stealing one of the blueberries, she pops it into her mouth, giving a “Mmmm” hum of approval as the juice lightly coats her lips. “And when you’re done, you can ditch the armor and come get the rest of your desert.”</p><p>Pushing away from the table, the doe saunters towards the bedroom, her hips swaying, causing her tail to flick with every step. Mouth agape, Nick swallows hard as he looks down towards the enticing pie.</p><p>“Yeahhh...this can wait,” he decides instantly as he blows out the candle and swiftly places the pie in the refrigerator before following the path to his bunny, uniform pieces littering the way.</p><p>---------------------</p><p>The hue of the Saturday mid-morning sun is matched by the oranges of the Bunny Burrow station making the almost comical face of the station’s front seem warm and friendly. Leaning against the traincar's support rail, Nick smiles at the station’s design as it slowly rolls in front of him. This is the second time that the tod has had the opportunity to see it. A bright orange rabbit caricature complete with overstated, white bucked teeth is matched with airy, pinkish ears and supported all around by orange carrot pillars atop which sit dark orange overhangs. Regardless of the almost childish design, Nick can’t help but feel a degree of happiness that the structure emanates, a tribute to the designer.</p><p>Triple sets of size-scaled doors slide open on the Zootopia Zephyr, allowing riders to depart, with the vast majority utilizing the mid-doors, more appropriate for lagomorphs...and one red fox.</p><p>“Come on, Nick! I see my parents over there!” Judy gleefully announces as she carries her overnight bag in one paw while dragging the fox with the other.</p><p>Releasing the tod’s paw as they approach the farmer rabbit couple, Judy rushes forward and drops her bag before grabbing Bonnie and Stu into a hug with each arm. Quick kisses on cheeks are delivered before the doe releases them and turns back to relocate her fox, taking him in paw again.</p><p>“Hello, Nick. Lovely to see you again,” Bonnie greets with a hug as her husband steps forward, also greeting the vulpin with a hug.</p><p>“I’m very glad to see you both are safe and doing well,” the buck states.</p><p>Any early concerns about their daughter moving to Zootopia and taking up with a fox were quickly dispelled when the video of Nick’s shooting in the hospital parking lot a year earlier was leaked to the public. Neither Stu nor Bonnie could ever feel anything but grateful to the tod as the replay clearly showed Nick first pushing Judy out of harm’s way and then attacking the gun-wielding sheep, a follower of that lunatic, Bellwether.</p><p>After watching the replay, Nick’s species suddenly became completely unimportant to the rabbit parents. Judy would follow her own path in life, and if that meant selecting a fox for a mate, one who without a doubt would protect her in that big, scary city, then he had both of their blessings.</p><p>Besides, it’s not like they were lacking in grandkits...</p><p>Piling into one of the Hopps’ fleet of pickup trucks, Bonnie takes the wheel with Judy joining her in front as the males make themselves comfortable in the back bed.</p><p>“I’m glad you got a chance to come visit us, Nick,” Stu offers, taking off his hat to keep it from whipping away in the wind.</p><p>“I’m glad too,” the tod explains. “Although, it was sort of sprung on me yesterday. Judy said that she has some personal business here. I don’t suppose you know anything about it, do you?”</p><p>“A smart buck stays out of a doe’s business, lad,” the father answers. “I may have a suspicion as to why she wanted to return home. But, I think it’s best if she tells you, herself.”</p><p>Nick nods with understanding before he looks up and begins to recognize the landscape. Two tractors are currently traversing a field, both dragging cultivators, prepping the land, while a number of rabbits are seen wielding farm tools.</p><p>“These are the west fields, right?”</p><p>“That’s right. My sons are readying the field. We’ll be dropping seed in another week,” Stuart reports and then turns to glance ahead of the truck. “We’ll be at the burrow in about ten minutes.”</p><p>As they pull up before the main Hopps burrow, Nick jumps over the side, opening the door for Judy and handing her her traveling bag. After greeting the family members that had gathered to see them arrive, Judy quickly takes Nick inside and quietly makes her way to the guest room where they drop off their bags. During the trip inside and to the room, the tod senses anxiousness around his mate, more than can be answered by just arriving at her childhood home.</p><p>“OK. What’s going on?” Nick finally asks, breaking the silence that they’ve been holding.</p><p>Judy bites her lower lip, her ears rigidly vertical and her body almost shaking as eyes pierce through the fox. He can almost hear her thinking.</p><p>“I was going to wait until after we had a chance to get something to eat, but...c’mon,” she finally relents, taking Nick’s forepaw and guiding them back out into the hallway. The pair then travel through a maze of passages and into another section of the burrow, a part that Nick hadn’t visited during his prior trip.</p><p>“Where are we going?” Nick finally asks.</p><p>“Nursery and Early Care,” Judy quickly responds, and then halting before a door, she gently opens it, leading the tod into a sizable room. Within the space, dozens of cradles and cribs are arrayed and being tended to by a number of does and some younger bucks, all siblings or nieces/nephews of Judy, Nick assumes.</p><p>Holding a finger to her mouth for quiet, his mate leads him to an adjoining room containing kits from 6 to 12 months.</p><p>Correction, kits...and one rat pup.</p><p>Nick’s eyes shoot wide and quickly finds Judy’s, the obvious question on his mind.</p><p>“Yes, dear. This is the same pup we found in Little Rodentia. My parents have been fostering him and are meeting with the adoption board this afternoon to formally add him into the family. I wanted to be here for the event”</p><p>“Nick,” Judy states, picking up the pup and holding him. “I’d like to introduce you to Robert.”</p><p>----------------</p><p>After lunch, Bonnie and Stu set out to their meeting with Juvenile Services in downtown Bunny Burrow. Although Judy desperately wanted to join, the rules require that only the adopting parents could attend with the child.</p><p>“Stupid rule,” Judy sighs as she sits at one of the kitchen tables, waiting.</p><p>“They’ll be back soon, Carrots. It’s already been two hours,” Nick assures.</p><p>No sooner than the words leave his lips, the doe’s ears radar towards the front of the house where, shortly thereafter, the tod hears the sounds of a pickup truck coming up the gravel driveway. Moments later, Stu and Bonnie enter with the doe carrying Robert in her arms.</p><p>The elated look on Judy’s face on their return suddenly melts as she reads both parents.</p><p>“What’s wrong? What happened?”</p><p>“We were denied, Judy,” her father finally responds.</p><p>“We were declared too old to adopt,” Bonnie adds, and with a deep sigh, collapses into a nearby chair.</p><p>“Too old…” she whispers again as tears stream her face.</p><p>Quickly moving to her mother, Judy hugs the older doe and then relieves her of the pup, who although young, is understanding enough to see that there is sadness around him, leading him to begin to cry.</p><p>“It’s nonsense, Bon,” Stu growls. “You’re not too old. You’ve missed cycles before.”</p><p>“But, not for a whole season!” Bonnie cries out. “Maybe, they’re right. Maybe, I’m only good as a grandmother anymore.”</p><p>“What’s to happen to Robert?” Nick finally interjects.</p><p>The older doe goes quiet, shaking her head as her mate finally answers. “They’re going to find another foster parent. They’d prefer a couple that’s younger, and preferably, may allow him to grow up closer to Zootopia.”</p><p>“It’s not like there aren’t rat families in Bunny Burrow!” Judy objects.</p><p>“The numbers are few, Judes,” Stuart responds. “These adoption boards are charged with trying to find the best situation for the child.”</p><p>“Could one of my siblings adopt him?” Judy asks, grasping for solutions.</p><p>“We talked it over coming back here, dear,” Bonnie answers. “Only a few of your married siblings are in a state where they might be able to, and we made a few phone calls. The timing just isn’t right. Either they’re just getting started on their own and don’t want kits yet, or in the midst of starting their families and just couldn’t give Robert attention.”</p><p>“And none of them would satisfy the Zootopia closeness,” her father adds, taking off his hat and wiping his head in frustration.</p><p>Silence holds momentarily before Nick straightens up and takes a few steps back. His mind is swirling, but he already knows where it’s headed. Returning to Judy, he leans over and lightly kisses the doe between her ears.</p><p>“I’ll be right back,” he tells her before he walks away, heading down the hallway towards their guest room.</p><p>Nicholas Wilde is no dumb fox. You don’t survive years on the streets starting at the age of sixteen without having a good sense of survival and awareness. He knew what day it was when Judy asked him yesterday (well...off a day as midnight had passed). He clearly remembered what he told her a year previously about fox courting rituals and time duration. If she missed by a couple of days for wanting to celebrate their reunion rather than moving in together, he was willing to waive the difference. He’d chalk it up to a bunny’s preference, and Nick was willing to be flexible...especially for her.</p><p>Minutes later, the tod returns to the kitchen to where the parents are still lamenting to Judy while she stands, cradling a now sleeping pup. Walking towards her, his mask is affixed. Nothing is being shown even though internally, he is churning. Reaching down, he softly relieves the sleeping pup from Judy to her questioning eyes and turns to gently hand him back to the elder doe. Then, returning to his mate, he retrieves a small container from his pocket, an object that he has been keeping close to him now for weeks.</p><p>Dropping to a knee before the young doe whose ears are now rigidly vertical, Nick flips open the container revealing a diamond affixed ring, bracketed on each side by an amethyst and an emerald. Taking her left forepaw into his, he looks into wide, yet watering eyes and asks the most important question of his life.</p><p>“Judith Laverne Hopps, will you marry me?”</p><p>-----------</p><p>Squeals of delight are followed by hugs and congratulations all around before Bonnie whisks the newly engaged couple away again in the pickup truck back to the Bunny Burrow administrative complex. As the truck parks, Judy bolts from the passenger seat all but dragging Nick out of the back bed and towards the building’s entrance.</p><p>“Carrots! Relax! The complex is still open for another hour,” Nick chides.</p><p>“Uh uh, I’m not taking any chances with long lines. Let’s go,” the doe commands, pulling the fox forward.</p><p>Bonnie quickly catches up to the pair, and this time, rather than taking a left down the hall to Juvenile Services, Bonnie leads them right towards the Registrar where she stops in the hallway.</p><p>“You two go on. I want to have a quick chat with the case worker and have them put everything on hold,” whereupon, she leaves them and backtracks down the hallway.</p><p>In the late afternoon registration line, Judy is nearly bouncing up and down as she keeps looking at her new engagement ring. His own inner concerns quenched during the ride to the complex, Nick smiles as he enjoys his hyperbunny exuding energy even greater than her normally excited level.</p><p>“Nick, this is beautiful!” the doe exclaims, checking the stones out as they reflect the room’s fluorescent lights. “And, it fits perfectly. How did you know the size? I don’t own any rings.”</p><p>Nick chuckles. “Sweetheart, we sleep together every night. Do you think that I might have had an opportunity to take a measurement?”</p><p>“Sly fox,” Judy gibes.</p><p>“Beautiful bunny,” Nick responds, modifying their normal banter and gaining a peck kiss on his muzzle for it.</p><p>Taking a spot at one of the registration desks, Judy begins filling out the forms for both of them, just another type of paperwork that Nick is more than happy to delegate. As he watches her move line by line he sees her halt at the section that requests a listing of any current offspring.</p><p><em>Here it comes</em>, he thinks internally.</p><p>Ears drop for the first time since the ring was placed on her finger as Judy turns towards her mate. He can read the worry in her eyes.</p><p><em>You knew the doubt would surface, Wilde. Time to squash it</em>, he says to himself.</p><p>“Nick...umm. Are you doing this because of Robert?”</p><p>Reaching over, Nick turns the doe’s shoulders so that she now faces him directly, leaving his paws lightly on them to denote seriousness.</p><p>“Judy,” he starts, the use of her true name causing her ears to raise and nose to twitch faster. “What did I tell you about vulpine courtship rituals?”</p><p>Nick can almost feel her processing the question, and internally, he has to suppress the urge to chuckle.</p><p>“Foxes sort of take their time. Many couples try living together first for maybe a year or two, and if it works out, then they’ll get married and start producing kits.”</p><p><em>Wow...verbatim</em>, Nick states internally, impressed.</p><p>“And what day is tomorrow?” He then poses.</p><p>“A year ago, I moved into your apartment,” she answers, then ears go rigid and eyes wide with realization.</p><p>“Nick! Were you going to ask me to marry you tomorrow?!”</p><p>A big smile now grows on the fox’s face after which he nods.</p><p>“I ruined your surprise!”</p><p>“Karma loves drama, Carrots, and I’ll probably get extra points for having it play out this way instead. But to answer your initial question, No. I am not doing this because of Robert. But, we are doing this <em>today</em> because of Robert. That does not change the result. I was going to ask you tomorrow, but from a culture perspective, one day does not make a difference.”</p><p>Nick suddenly finds himself wrapped in a tight bunny hug, of which he responds in kind.</p><p>“I love you, Nick,” he hears, muffled slightly by his shirt and fur.</p><p>“I love you too, Judy,” he responds with a soft kiss applied between her ears.</p><p>Pulling away slightly, she looks up to ask, “So, do I list Robert on the offspring list?”</p><p>Looking down into beautiful amethysts, Nick answers. “Not yet. We have to adopt him first.”</p><p>“And when we do fill out those forms, Sweetheart, we’ll list him as Robin…”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Opportunities</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Time jump +7 years.</p><p>(Foundation Datestamp, 2024NT)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Still in uniform, her shift having just completed, Judith (Hopps) Wilde enters the Foundation complex, newly pressed Lieutenant bars affixed on each side of her collar. Moving swiftly and unerringly down the well-known corridors, she heads towards MedLab. Rocky’s message requesting that she come by when she was done with her day was surprising. But, what was equally unexpected was the other inhabitant in the lab who was currently chatting with the late-40s looking, racoon doctor. Dressed in plain clothes (if you can consider a green Pawaiin shirt and purple tie “plain”) is her fox-husband of seven years, Detective Nicholas Wilde.</p><p>Before she has a chance to say hello, Nick announces, “Well, look who’s joined us? ZPD’s youngest ever Lieutenant, Judith Wilde,” which is capped off with a crisp salute before hugging her and adding a welcoming kiss.</p><p>“Congrats, Carrots. I’m sorry I couldn’t attend the impromptu ceremony at First Precinct, but I was on a wild goose chase.”</p><p>“Oh? Someone in Meadowlands gave Higgins a bogus tip?” Judy surmises, noting the Meadowlands District’s new police chief.</p><p>“Nope. Actual wild geese. We were setting up a stake-out for the late night shift, and a flock of geese landed on top of us, honking like crazy. It took the afternoon to shoo them all off. Nothing like calling attention to the hideout.”</p><p>As Judy laughs at Nick’s fate, the fox turns towards the banded physician. “So, Doc, Why the summons?”</p><p>“Follow me,“ Rocky instructs, leading them out of the MedLab to the left, away from the laboratory. A short trip down the undecorated walls, hindpaw nails clicking on the tile floor, and the white-smocked physician halts before a secured door, one that Judy remembers from her only trip to this section, eight years previously.</p><p>“There’s something wrong with the cloning cylinders?” the blue-suited rabbit askes, her ears vertical and eyes wide with concern.</p><p>“Nothing wrong,” Rocky quickly assures.</p><p>As he places a paw on the security reader and closes his eyes to the scanning beam. Doors unlock and the three enter into the long and narrow room which contains the eight cylindrical units used for cloning. Whereas only cylinder five should be active, containing the next host for Palver, two are now showing signs of activity as the unit next to it, cylinder four, is in use.</p><p>“Can’t say I’m following here, Doc, as I’ve never been in this room,” Nick states with an implied question. “Carrots’ comment leads me to believe that this is where you cook the next Palver host. But, why two?”</p><p>“Cylinder Five is for Palver,” Judy recalls from her prior trip. “But, who is in cylinder Four?”</p><p>Rocky looks at the two-plus meters long cylinder and says flatly...</p><p>“Me”.</p><p>Momentarily, silence holds as Fox and bunny trade confused looks, “But, Palver told me that the process only works for humans,” Judy finally states in confusion.</p><p>“I know, and for two-thousand years, we thought that to be true. But, after reviewing the work of many of my predecessors combined with some current work at Zoopoly, I believe I’ve found the reason why it never worked on other mammals and how to correct it.”</p><p>Another set up confused looks before Nick asks. “So, then why did you need us to come here today?”</p><p>“Because,” the raccoon physician starts, and then after taking a deep breath, finishes with, “Because, Palver wants to clone you two.”</p><p>----------------------------</p><p>The decagonal shaped control room is unusually brightly lit as active streams of branch equations dance across the black, floor-to-ceiling monitors that line the walls. On the right side, Huby sits in his well-worn, camel-appropriate sized chair adjusting controls from which the walls react with shifts of equations. To the left, in the other camel-sized chair, sit the fox and bunny couple, their fingers intertwined. Although the chair is generally used by one of the twins when they occupy the room, July always considers it to be Gemel’s chair even though he finally decided to retire and take up emeritus duty at Zootopia Polytechnic.</p><p>In the middle, leaning forward in the lone human-sized control chair and staring intently towards the central monitor, is Palver, the Foundation’s leader. Although over two-thousand years of memoried life, the few grey strands in his dark beard illuminated by the dancing light of the changing monitors place him merely in his late 30s.</p><p>“OK. Hold it there,” Palver directs to Huby as the changes freeze. Then, gesturing towards the screens, he adds. “See? You keep getting called out.”</p><p>“Chief, can we pretend for a minute that I’m not a classically trained mathematician and boil that down to simpler words?” Nick snarks.</p><p>Chuckling, the tall human rises from his chair and stands near the front wall.</p><p>“Huby, illuminate please,” he requests and suddenly identical symbols shift to yellow, contrasting them from the long streams of white equations.</p><p>“These symbols are you, or actually the effect you have on society. You’re showing up on four main branches of probability, and those branches carry the highest odds of Zootopia’s future direction.”</p><p>“Well, I already know I’m awesome. But, what does that have to do with Doc wanting to grow another pair of us?” the tod inquires, raising his forepaw to show the attached doe.</p><p>“Two of those symbols appear on branches at a point where we can reasonably assume are beyond your lifespan, Nick,” Huby explains, gaining a wide-eye stare from the fox.</p><p>“Wait. Are you saying that the black box over there is predicting that I can safely regenerate?”</p><p>“No,” Palver says with a shake of his head. “What Seldon is predicting is that if you successfully regenerate, you’ll be a key element in society’s movement in the future.”</p><p>Releasing Judy’s paw, the fox slumps back into the chair with arms folded as he contemplates those words. Ears raised high, the doe turns towards the standing human. “And how does that affect me?” she asks.</p><p>“I’m not going anywhere without you,” Nick quickly responds in a grumble, flicking an ear in irritation. Surprisingly, his response gains a short laugh from Palver.</p><p>“It’s more than sentiment, Judy,” the leader states, turning towards the camel. “Huby, no regen for Judy, please.”</p><p>A short nod from the elder camel, and two-toed paws work his counsel with visible familiarity. Moments later, the monitors blur and refocus with projection lines altered. Again, the highlighted symbols of Nick are displayed, but the future ones are now missing.</p><p>“See. I told you I wouldn’t go,” Nick comments, looking at the screens.</p><p>“Oh, you may still be there,” Palver corrects. “You’re just no longer affecting society.”</p><p>Pacing a few steps to stand in front of the small mammal pair, the tall human crouches down to their eye level.</p><p>“For Nick, you’re a catalyst, Judy. Without you, Nick disappears as an active agent in Zootopia’s path. To that effect, it makes you as important to have regenerate as your husband.”</p><p>“Catalyst…” Judy mulls.</p><p>“Well, I know of some really nice reactions you get from me,” Nick quips suggestively with an eyebrow wiggle, gaining him a shot to the shoulder from his wife.</p><p>“That was terrible, Slick,” she huffs, trying (and failing) to hide a smile.</p><p>Rubbing his shoulder, feigning injury in a feeble attempt to gain sympathy from the doe for the “unjust” thump...and getting none, Nick folds and turns back towards the human to address his next concern. “So, what makes you think after two-thousand years of failure, you can bring us back?”</p><p>“The spark,” comes the answer from the rear of the room. Stepping out of the shadows, Rocky jumps up and takes a seat in Palver’s chair. “A few years back, a sheep scientist named Dolly tried to clone herself. The procedure was successful in that it produced a live replicate, but the clone lacked sentience. It was effectively savage.”</p><p>“That’s what got me digging,” the physician continues, relaxing in the seat in a way that wordlessly announces to the Foundation leader that he has lost ownership of his chair for the time being.</p><p>“We’ve known for some time that there is a ‘Spark of Life’ at conception. It’s even been recorded. But, what wasn’t realized is that spark comes with an overtone of sentience. A clone, however, never goes through conception, and I’m suspecting that it doesn’t gain that overtone. Thus, it’s left as savage and the transference of synaptic patterns from the prior host fails.”</p><p>“But, you can clone Palver, and he’s not savage” Judy argues.</p><p>“That’s because he’s human. Sentience is a natural state for him,” the smock-wearing raccoon counters. “For us, it’s not. Our sentience was...imposed.”</p><p>“You say that as if it is a bad thing, Rocky,” Palver remarks with a chuckle. “Anyway, to make a clone sentient, it appears that I have to recreate the spark of sentience. In other words, I have to perform an uplift, which is something that I haven’t done in over two-thousand years,”</p><p>“Well, you better brush up on your notes, great leader, ‘cuz I got a clone cooking,” Rocky directs, and then looks over to the pair in the oversized chair. “I’m the test case. If I’m right and Palver can hotwire my new host, then he can do it for you two. But, we’ll need to get your clones going now.”</p><p>“And, if you’re wrong?” Nick challenges.</p><p>Rocky takes a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “Then, say some nice things about me at my wake and live out your natural life in peace. Your clones will be disposed of.”</p><p>Judy remains silent for a moment. Ears already low. her front paws begin fidgeting with the left one. After eight years together, seven as a married couple, the tod easily recognizes his mate having an internal quandary.</p><p>“We couldn’t wake them up. They’d be baseline,” Palver says, also feeling the distress in the bunny. “Or savage, as you know it.”</p><p>“That’s not it. Well, it’s that too, but…” the doe says softly</p><p>“Then, what is it, my love?” Nick softly prods.</p><p>Looking up at the human, still crouched before them, Judy explains. “You’ve told me before that you had...difficulty with rabbits,” she starts, choosing her words, “and that your wife had to...help you.”</p><p>Taking a deep breath, Palver stands, taking a step back. “I follow. You’re wondering if being a bunny is going to make your regeneration fail,” he states, getting a soft nod from the doe.</p><p>“Believe it or not, I thought of that too when Huby and Rocky brought the idea to me. But, it’s not like I didn’t uplift bunnies. In the beginning, Lori and I had our hands full, rabbits being rather good at multiplying, as you know. And yes, I had some stumbles when I was trying to address litters. But I assure you, I’ll be very focused when I have just one to do.”</p><p>Gazing back at the monitors for a moment, Palver softly adds, “Look. There’s no requirement here. Having you regenerate will provide an easier path for society, but it’s not the only one. Give it some thought and let us know, but soon please,” he adds.</p><p>But the words are wasted as fox and bunny have already locked eyes, silent communication flowing between them.</p><p>“We’ll do it,” Judy states.</p><p>“But, she has to go first,” Nick amends, and then holds a paw to his seatmate to forestall the expected argument. “I said it already, Carrots. I’m not going anywhere without you. If there’s a risk of you not coming out the other side, then you go first.”</p><p>Judy pauses for a moment, and then nods acceptance.</p><p>“We’ll have to start you today, Nick,” Rocky states, jumping down from the human-sized chair. “Judy, I’ll contact you when it's time for you. It will be some months though, as males take longer to reach maturity.”</p><p>The doe laughs, “No surprise there. I’m still waiting for Nick to grow up.”</p><p>“Hey! That’s just youthful charm! Yet another one of my many redeeming features,” the tod defends.</p><p>“Well, speaking of youth, I need to run to pick up Robin at your mom’s place. I’ll see you at home,” Judy declares, and places a soft kiss to the side of the tod’s muzzle before wishing everyone farewell and exiting.</p><p>--------------------------</p><p>Laying back on the diagnostic bed in the MedLab, Nick awaits the arrival of the Foundation’s physician as he scans the room, recalling one of the best events of his life that occurred on this very bed. It was here, eight years ago, that he woke up after being shot only to find himself cuddling the most caring, loving, and beautiful bunny that ever existed. Gaining her into his life was well worth the cost of being shot...and magically healed (well...Foundation magic).</p><p>His reminiscing is interrupted by the raccoon physician as the procyon enters the room carrying a small container which has tubes and minor equipment with it.</p><p>“So, what kind of major surgery do you need to do here, and can I get a sick day off for it?” Nick quips.</p><p>“Sorry, detective. Nothing big. I just need a few skin cells. I’ll take it from your left arm. It will be like you were scratched.”</p><p>“Well, that sounds...boring. And, you can make another me from that?” the tod asks, getting interested.</p><p>“Takes a little more than that. The real trick is unraveling the time you’ve spent aging the genes,” Rocky responds, making a small cut in the fox’s arm and transferring the cells to a petri dish.</p><p>After applying a bandage to the tod’s arm, Rocky releases his patient; whereupon, Nick finds Huby in the hallway, an expression of anticipation on the elder camel’s face. “You got a minute to chat?”</p><p>“Sure, Numbers! What’s up?” Nick invites, using his favorite nickname for the mathematician.</p><p>Steering the tod into the Laboratory for privacy, Huby silently closes the door.</p><p>“Palver was being a little vague about you when he was presenting your anticipated role in society going forward,” the camelid explains. “Seldon was actually uncharacteristically specific about you, and I wanted to discuss it with you.”</p><p>“Go on,” the tod slowly encourages, voice carrying concern.</p><p>“Society is at the point where Foundation technology can be introduced and merged into mainstream life, and Seldon predicts that through a controlled introduction, the Foundation can continue to guide society’s development and direction.”</p><p>Nick’s eyes go wide. “Are you telling me that Seldon wants me to begin producing and marketing Foundation technology?”</p><p>“As a first step, yes. From there, Seldon is projecting that you’ll gain the needed exposure and funding to have a greater influence.”</p><p>The reality of what is being proposed begins to sink into Nick’s mind. “But, I’m a cop, and Judy…”</p><p>The camel’s eyes narrow. “Nick, look at Judy’s career. She’s skyrocketing up the ZPD ranks. How soon do you think it will be before she’s organizationally over you? You’ve helped her make her dream. It’s time to consider what your path is after that.”</p><p>Nick rubs his chin, thinking. “Right. OK. So, how do we do this?”</p><p>“We’ll help you set up an engineering front company and feed you specs for products that can be built,” Huby proposes.</p><p>Fox business sense snaps in. “And, what’s your cut?”</p><p>“Fifty percent of the profits,” the camel states flatly.</p><p>“Uh uh,” comes the immediate response. “I’m taking all the risk and leaving my career. Ten percent.”</p><p>“Forty, and we audit the books.”</p><p>“Twenty, and you can name the CFO.”</p><p>Huby’s eyes narrow again, staring hard at the fox. “Twenty-five, we name the CFO, and if you don’t take it, I’m going to tell your wife that you’re trying to take advantage of the Foundation.”</p><p>Nick frowns, “That’s playing dirty, Numbers.”</p><p>“I learned from the best, fox,” Huby responds with a smile, sticking out a two-toed paw. “So, we have a deal?”</p><p>The tod hesitates and then accepts, shaking on the deal. “You sure you’re not part fox?”</p><p>Huby snorts a laugh. “Don’t worry. This will be a nice, working partnership.”</p><p>“Yeah, well...wait ‘til you see who’s going to be the COO,” Nick taunts, before opening the door and stepping away.</p><p>A smile on his face, Huby walks out of the room only to meet Palver coming the other way.</p><p>“You look happy,” the Foundation leader assesses. “You get the twenty percent?”</p><p>Short chuckle. “Twenty-five.”</p><p>“Really?” Palver responds, a surprised look on his face. “You sure you’re not part fox?”</p><p>---------------------------</p><p>An hour later, two foxes sit in a darkened, corner booth at what would normally be described as a “dive bar”, but is well known by the pair. Dividing the mammals are two, traditionally brown beer bottles, their surfaces moistened with precipitation, indicating the coldness of the ales, a strong selling point for meeting at this particular tavern.</p><p>“All right, Wilde. What trouble did you get yourself into? Bunny-cop finally wise up and throw your sorry ass out?” asks the tan-colored, fennec fox on the other side. The deepness of his voice is in great contrast to the smallness of his stature (if you discount the ears) as he takes a swig from the oversized bottle before him.</p><p>“None of that,” the red fox replies, cradling the other bottle. “We’re all good.”</p><p>“Then why are you buying me a beer? You only buy when I have to get your ass out of some trouble,” Finnick challenges, before adding, “And don’t think that your Pawaiin shirt is enough cover. Speak fast as there are folks around here that can see the blue through it.”</p><p>“Hey! This is 100% silk!”</p><p>“Yeah...yeah...whatever. So, fox?” the fennec growls again.</p><p>“I have an opportunity for you,” Nick states with a smile.</p><p>“Last time you said that, I ended up wearing a miniature grey and pink elephant suit to swindle ice cream stores out of jumbo pops,” comes the low-toned complaint.</p><p>“This is a little better. I’d like you to operate a company for me. Be the COO,” the auburn-furred vulpin offers.</p><p>“I’m not a tailor, and needles bother me. Too pointy.”</p><p>“It’s not the clothing shop. It’s a tech shop. I’ve got a line on some advanced tech gadget designs, and I want them engineered, built and marketed,” Nick explains.</p><p>“Tech designs,” Finnick mulls. “This...legit? You being a cop and all?”</p><p>“Completely. You can trust me on that.”</p><p>“Uh huh,” the smaller fox considers. “And, what’s in it for me?”</p><p>“I’ll triple your salary that you’re getting at the restaurant, <em>short</em> order cook,” Nick snarks, emphasizing the “short”.</p><p>“Asshole,” Finnick snarls, emptying his bottle as Nick chuckles. “I barely make enough to cover my van costs. Doesn’t seem very much for a COO.”</p><p>Leaning over the table, the russet colored vulpin adds, “Maybe I forgot to mention the generous bonus program based on profitability.”</p><p>“You holding out on me, Wilde? That makes you a double asshole. But, fine. I’m sick of flipping burgers anyway,” the sand-colored fennec concedes. “And where are we going to get tech engineers?”</p><p>“I have that covered. I know a pretty sharp skunk named Pepe who’s recently out of Zoopoly. I’ve known him since he was a kit. He was always taking electronic things apart to see how they work until his dad came home one day to find his computer in parts strewn across the den floor. I’ll contact him and have him bring a few of his tech buddies from school.”</p><p>Finnick nods. “So what are you in all of this?”</p><p>“CEO, but mostly in absentia as I have my real job to do,” Nick leans back again, the beer bottle surrendering a gulp. “I’ll use the pseudonym, Mr. Zorro, for the papers when I file the company.”</p><p>“Zorro? What the hell is that?”</p><p>“A word from a beautiful language that sadly hasn’t been used for a long time,” Nick smiles.</p><p>“If it means snarky asshole, then it’s a fit,” Finnick snaps. “You the CFO too?”</p><p>“Nope, we’ll be having another party join us from the benefactor who’s providing us the tech specs.”</p><p>“You let them plant a spy?” Finnick groans and then leans across the table. “Are you sure you’re a fox?”</p><p>-------------------------</p><p>Two train rides with a connection later and Nicholas Wilde enters his apartment home above the tailor shop. At the kitchen table on an elevated seat, a young rodent sits over an open schoolbook, reading a passage from the text, a literary assignment. His adoptive mother, ZPD lieutenant Judith Wilde sits across from him, rapt attention aimed at the kit as she proudly listens to his reciting of a paragraph written for at least two grades higher than the eight-year-old.</p><p>Stopping by the table, Nick kisses his wife and lightly hugs the kit before moving off to the bedroom to change. As he drapes the purple tie over a holding rack, he hears movement and turns to spot his bunny standing in the doorway.</p><p>“What’s up, beautiful bunny?” the tod inquires, bringing a smile to the doe’s face.</p><p>“I thought I’d come by while Robin was reading to see if you heard about Wolford?”</p><p>Shaking his head, Nick evens his tie over the rack. “I was kind of ears deep in geese today, sorry. I know he was devastated with the loss of his wife a few months ago after that DUI hit her. I was hoping he’d come back, but what happened?”</p><p>“He decided to go active duty with ZDF. He was in the reserves, if you recall,” Judy informs. Nick nods, noting awareness. “Fred was offered a permanent desk assignment at HQ. That would provide him the time stability that he wants right now so that he can better care for Ralphie.”</p><p>“Yeah, poor kit. Pretty young to lose a mother. But, a change and stability is the best for Freddie, I guess,” Nick contemplates, his mind on his friend.</p><p>Walking closer to the tod, Judy runs her paws up his chest to gain his attention again.</p><p>“So? Did you and Huby agree to give you Foundation specs to build products?”</p><p>“What?” Nick snaps out of his thoughts. “How’d you know about the deal?”</p><p>“Did you really think Huby would keep from me that he was going to offer my slick fox that which he’s been coveting ever since we woke up in the MedLab, getting his hands on Foundation tech?”</p><p>The tod drops his head, shaking it. “I should have guessed. I also had a beer with Finnick on the way home. He’s going to be COO and run the shop.”</p><p>Nodding, Judy rubs her hands softly up his chest again, before challenging, “You didn’t take Huby for less than the twenty percent cut, did you?”</p><p>Fox eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”</p><p>“Twenty percent of the profit. That was what Palver told him to get.”</p><p>Shaking his head, Nick mutters. “We settled at twenty-five.”</p><p>Laughing, the doe teases, “He took you for an extra five percent? Are you sure you’re a fox?”</p><p>Letting out a light growl at the grinning doe, the tod responds, “Finnick asked me the same question when I told him that I agreed to let them name the CFO.”</p><p>“So, when did Huby call you?” Nick asks.</p><p>Rather than answering, Judy counters with her own question, “Tell me something, Nick. What did I get my college degree in?”</p><p>Fox eyebrows furrow at the question as Nick tries to make the connection, “I thought it was in some kind of Criminal Justice or Law Enforcement degree.”</p><p>“Nope,” she responds with the “p” popped, setting off internal sirens in her mate. “Criminal Justice was my minor. Lapin college didn’t have a major in it. Instead, my degree was in Accounting. I even sat for the CPA tests and passed them.”</p><p>“Wait!” Nick declares. “You’re an accountant?”</p><p>“Yep,” comes the popping “p”, before she rises to her toes. Pulling the fox down for a kiss, she whispers into his ear, “and your new, Foundation named, CFO.”</p><p>“Wha--? How?!”</p><p>“I’ll hire a Controller to watch the books, Slick. Can’t have you cheating Huby out of his Twenty-<em>FIVE</em> percent,” she laughs before returning to the kitchen.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Talent</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Time jump +19 years.</p><p>(Foundation Datestamp 2043NT)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Foundation Laboratory room is quiet, but far from vacant. A hairless anteater and an aged raccoon, both in physician smocks, stand next to the tall, dark-haired Foundation leader as they all quietly study a status panel. Mounted only 1.5 meters above the floor to better serve the smaller physicians, the panel currently displays the status of the cloned hosts, the one of most interest being cylinder four containing a procyonidae.</p><p>Only two years removed from his latest regeneration, the mid-twenties human quietly rocks on his feet with youthful energy as he looks down towards the panel before the burning question leaves his lips.</p><p>“How soon?” he asks, the briefness of his question leaving no doubt as to subject and concern.</p><p>The late-sixties raccoon strokes his greying muzzle, pondering.</p><p>“I see it as early as tomorrow,” states Johnny, the physician anteater and grand-nephew of the legendary healer, Jonas Salak.</p><p>“Yeah, you’re probably right, kid,” Rocky agrees, releasing his muzzle. “I was kind of expecting a few more days before the host was ready.”</p><p>“We could extend it a bit, maybe to mid-week,” the younger doctor offers.</p><p>“Nah. There’s something spiritual about starting one’s life on a Sunday.”</p><p>“Really, Rocky? Are you turning religious?” Palver asks, slightly incredulous.</p><p>“Chief, I’ve been praying hard all week that I’m right about this,” the raccoon snaps back, then turning and giving the leader a hard stare, he adds, “I’m also hoping that two millennia hasn’t dulled your abilities.”</p><p>Palver laughs. “Raccoons were never a problem for me, unlike the one that’s about to come through the door.”</p><p>“Huh? Which on--,” Rocky is about to ask before being interrupted by the appearance of a rabbit doe in her early fifties, accompanied by an auburn coated fox with a greying muzzle, nine years her senior.</p><p>“What brings you two by here?” the leader asks.</p><p>“We have the weekend free and wanted to know if you would...umm...do us a favor and meet someone,” Judy offers hesitantly.</p><p>Palver’s eyes widen in surprise as the physicians look at each other in question.</p><p>“You brought someone here?” the Leader questions, a note of concern entering his voice.</p><p>“No. Of course not,” Nick responds quickly. “We have her in a facility not far from here, maybe 15 minutes by van.”</p><p>“Her…” the bearded human muses, which is immediately followed by the expected, “Why?”.</p><p>“We believe she needs help, Palver, and you may be the only one who can do it,” Nick again answers.</p><p>A quiet pause is followed by the leader shrugging his shoulders. “I suppose if the Mayor of Zootopia and the ZPD Police Commissioner ask a favor of me, I probably should grant it.”</p><p>Turning towards the two medical practitioners, he adds, “Go ahead and prep the host. I’ll go visit the distressed damsel our two friends here want me to meet, return for a good night of sleep, and be ready in the morning.”</p><p>----------------------</p><p>The driverless black van silently glides along the road, the make and model updated by the Foundation Technicians to match current styles. In the rear, Palver, clad in his dark, traveling cloak, reclines in a plush, human appropriate-sized seat, while the fox and bunny pair sit on a sideways facing bench. On the other bench facing them is a black jaguar who sits quietly rigid. His dark camouflage outfit shows a series of bulges and creases that, even to the untrained eye, yells “extremely well armed”.</p><p>“You know, you could have left Nightmare here at home,” Nick quips. “We’re not taking you into a warzone.”</p><p>“Foundation rules, Nick,” Palver shrugs. “Whenever I leave the compound, Security has to join me.”</p><p>“I thought you made up the rules,” the fox counters.</p><p>“I do,” Palver responds casually. “But, Carlos here would be worried sick if I left him behind.”</p><p>“Yeah, I can see his inherent nervousness,” Nick cracks, eyeing the stoic jaguar. “I should borrow him for my press conferences. I’ll just have him stand next to me at the podium and give the ol’ stink eye to my favorite, fox-hating press members.”</p><p>“You can eat the more obnoxious ones,” he then adds, getting a rabbit elbow to the ribs.</p><p>“Be nice, Nick,” Judy admonishes. “Carlos takes his Foundation Security role very seriously,” which gains the doe a small nod of appreciation from the Security head.</p><p>“That reminds me,” Pavler interjects. “How is it that the Mayor of Zootopia is allowed out without a Security Detail.</p><p>“Carrots is my Detail, Palver,” Nick responds. “Technically, she’s a member of the ZPD and as such can act as my protection.”</p><p>“I certainly wouldn’t mess with her,” Carlos suddenly speaks in a deep, gravelly voice. “She takes down rhinos.”</p><p>“It’s been a while since I was in the ring, but thank you,” Judy appreciates as Nick laughs.</p><p>“Besides that, chief,” the vulpin continues, “I’m a predator.”</p><p>“Ah, the Lionheart security waiver amendment,” the Foundation leader recalls. “Leodore got that one slipped into an education appropriation bill, as I recall. He twisted the wolfpack tradition of predator self-protection to allow him to slip his security so that he could spend time undetected with his mistress, like that was enough to fool his wife. The only thing that saved his hide from her was being arrested during the missing mammal fiasco.”</p><p>“Yep,” Nick agrees. “And, a couple of times while I was in council, I managed to squash attempts to eliminate the amendment. I thought it might come in handy were I to become mayor. You know, in case I might want to visit a clandestine operation from another world that’s secretly controlling all of us.”</p><p>Palver rolls his eyes. “How about telling me about this lady we’re going to see?”</p><p>The van suddenly grows quiet as fox and bunny lock eyes, wordlessly communicating thoughts.</p><p>“I swear, I wish the uplift talent included telepathy. I’d love to eavesdrop into those silent pow-wows of yours.”</p><p>Nick finally shrugs as Judy voices, “I guess it doesn’t matter at this point.”</p><p>Turning towards the reclining human, the doe begins, “You remember Clawhauser?”</p><p>“Judy,” Palver sighs, dropping his head back. “I was regenerated, not reset. Of course I remember Ben. It wasn’t that long ago that he retired from the ZPD and opened the donut shop.”</p><p>“Right...right,” Judy apologizes with a paw wave. “What I meant was, did you know that Clawhauser has a younger sister?”</p><p>“Yes, about...ohhh, seven or so years younger, as I recall. Somewhere around your age.”</p><p>“Well, Ben has a niece by his sister named Sophia Artiglio. I met her a few times. She graduated from Zootopia University and recently entered ZooPoly for a graduate program in Psychology.”</p><p>“A Psych grad student isn’t a reason to drag me out of the Foundation, Judy,” Palver interrupts. “What is it that’s important enough about Ben’s niece for you to expose me and the Foundation to her?”</p><p>Nick clears his throat, gaining the attention of the other three. “There’s no need to dance around it, Sweetheart,” he offers before continuing. “She’s different, Chief. I’ve only met her a couple of times myself. First time, she was young, maybe seven or eight, and extremely quiet. I just remembered her looking at me as if she was reading my mind. It was kind of...eerie. Even Clawhauser used to say that he would stay away from her because she would keep asking him about the secret he was carrying.”</p><p>“Ben hinted about the Foundation?!” Palver exclaims, shooting forward in his seat.</p><p>“No!” Judy defends. “He swears that he never said anything. She just...feels things.”</p><p>“OK,” the leader says, leaning back into his chair. “What else?”</p><p>“Second time I met her was last week,” Nick continues. “I stopped by Ben’s Donuts and ran into her there. I had just come out of a tough council meeting. Some of my detractors are looking into things that I would rather they not, and I needed a stress-relief donut. She was...I would call it withdrawn, almost. But, you know me, Mr. Charm and all. Once I got her past a small ‘hello’ she asked me some questions that were way too accurate and personal.”</p><p>“There’s just something about her, Palver” Judy adds. “She was always very quiet. Pleasant. Did well in school, but avoided any social activities. No real friends.”</p><p>“OK. She’s a loner, and maybe observant. I get it. But I still don’t see the need for me--”</p><p>“It’s the feeling I got when I was talking to her,” Nick interrupts. “She had an...aura. I may not even have realized it, if it wasn’t for the fact that I’ve felt it before a few times when I was around you.”</p><p>“There’s also her early graduate work,” Judy interjects. “Ben told me that she was selected as a test subject for a lab on empathy. Her results were off the chart.”</p><p>Palver’s eyebrows knit together, as he looks at each of the pair.</p><p>“That’s...interesting,” he notes just as the van decelerates and emits a “ding” indicating their arrival.</p><p>Doors opening, the black jaguar exits first, eyes scanning quickly around, checking out the site. Following him, the taller human steps out, trailed by the fox and bunny couple. Almost immediately, an elder, plus-size cheetah comes running up to the dark van from a nearby, small structure and grips the Foundation leader in a tight hug.</p><p>“Palver! I am soooo happy to see you!” Clawhauser exclaims. “Thank you for coming!”</p><p>“You didn’t have to send the First Couple to come get me, Benjamin,” Palver explains, extracting himself from the cheetah’s grip. “If you had contacted me, I would have come.”</p><p>“I know. I know. Silly, Ben,” the portly cheetah apologizes. “You’re normally really busy, and this might be nothing, just Uncle Ben being overly worried about his niece. It’s just that she’s so withdrawn now, and getting worse.”</p><p>“Let’s get out of public, sir,” Carlos reminds, corralling the group towards the one-story building.</p><p>As they enter the structure, Judy explains while pointing down a short hallway, “We’ve set up connecting rooms down this hall with protective glass for you to meet--”</p><p>Palver stops short, eyes wide in shock. The touch was sloppy, unskilled, and overly strong. By reflex, he pushes back and immediately regrets the action as he feels her recoil from the sharp, mental slap. This is something that she would never have felt before, but would have learned had she been raised with others of her capability.</p><p>Now, he understands…</p><p>Moving quickly, he passes the first door, the one set up to protect him behind unbreakable glass. But, he needs no protection. He feels the confusion, the disorientation, the pain.</p><p>“Palver, no! This room!” Nick calls out, and then watches in horror as the Foundation leader grabs the handle of the room where Sophia has been placed, pulls it open, and enters it.</p><p>A heartbeat later the tod arrives in the same doorway, Judy nearly colliding with him as they both enter behind the leader who now stands halfway into the room. Carlos arrives a second beat later, tranq pistol in hand, but lowers it when they all notice the difference.</p><p>There is no growl.</p><p>No claws are extended.</p><p>No fangs are shown.</p><p>She stands besides the window-facing chair, reversed as she looks towards the opened, rear door. Her build is slim, even for a cheetah. Her lines, petite as easily shown by the long sundress she wears. Her height, slightly shorter than average, barely reaches above the Foundation leader’s shoulders. Perfectly balanced tear lines frame her delicate muzzle from the corners of her mouth upwards to her amber colored eyes, circling them in a natural eye-liner before continuing behind her cheeks, which hold softly muted spots.</p><p>In an earlier era, artists would have dueled over the right to paint her beauty.</p><p>It’s the eyes that currently have Palver’s focus, as they are wide with a combination of surprise, fear and hope. Now, he mentally greets her touch, bringing warmth, comfort and support. A touch she has never felt from others, and feared never would.</p><p>Seconds pass as the emotional conversation flows between the two before she takes a hesitant step forward, and then another, closing the distance between them. Eyes lower to his chest as her forepaw slowly rises, shaking nervously as she touches his cloak and then holds it as if proving to herself of his existence.</p><p>“Sophia, my name is Palver, and you are no longer alone,” he says softly, breaking the silence of the room.</p><p>Amber eyes rise, meeting blue, only to drop again as the felidae nods with quiet understanding. Finally, gripping the cloak harder for support, she pulls herself into the Foundation leader and begins to weep.</p><p>Supportive arms circle the smaller female as Palver looks over his shoulder and softly commands, “Give us a few minutes, please. We’ll be out in a bit.”</p><p>--------------------------</p><p>The atmosphere of the van’s return trip could have gone either of two ways, either exuberance over the discovery of a natural talent, or quiet pondering of events.</p><p>Or a third, self-recrimination, which was worse…</p><p>Palver sits slumped forward in the van’s chair, staring downwards as he holds his head in his hands, elbows on his knees. “I'm such an idiot. I should have been looking. It was time.”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Judy consoles. “I should have said something sooner.”</p><p>“Not your fault,” the lamenting human responds, still staring at his feet, slightly shaking his head. “I should have stayed closer to Clawhauser. Having him in the field meant that I wasn’t hearing about him or his family. Besides, I would never have thought that an uplifted mammal could gain the talent.”</p><p>“What do you mean it was time?” Nick asks.</p><p>Judy answers first. “Remember I told you about meeting Palver for the first time and having dinner while you were recovering from that poisoned bullet?” she asks, getting a nod from her mate. “Well, he mentioned that humans with uplift talent started appearing when the society began their work uplifting other mammals.”</p><p>“They may have been there all along,” Palver suggests, slumping back into his seat. “Until then, they might have been cast out of society as possessed or institutionalized in mental hospitals. Sofia was going down the same path, always believing that there was something <em>wrong</em> with her. She would isolate herself, no friends, little social life. Her going to college to get a psychology degree was self-driven. She was trying to diagnose herself as if she had an illness. Except...she won’t find any answers there.”</p><p>Looking up, the leader locks eyes with the bunny before adding, “You were right to bring me to her.”</p><p>“So, now what?” Nick poses.</p><p>“We bring her in. I think she has Uplift talent, and if so, I need to train her.”</p><p>“For what?” the tod asks, confused. “All mammals are uplifted already.”</p><p>“Except one, Nick,” Palver responds. And he’s being prepped currently to accept the life memories of his prior sixty-eight years of existence. But first, he needs to be uplifted.”</p><p>“And then, of course, there are two more after that,” he adds, staring at the fox and bunny couple. “Having Sofia trained provides backup that we haven’t had in over a millennium.”</p><p>“Ben is bringing her to the Foundation at 09:00. I want her to join me at 10:00 for the procedure. You two are welcome to join if you have time.”</p><p>Bunny and fox lock eyes again, only briefly, before Judy announces, “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”</p>
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